


Just a Bad Dream

by TheFredtoherGeorge



Category: Divergent Series - Veronica Roth
Genre: Allegiant Alternate Ending, F/M, Fluff, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-22
Updated: 2014-08-22
Packaged: 2018-02-14 07:03:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2182383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheFredtoherGeorge/pseuds/TheFredtoherGeorge
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Allegiant Spoilers Ahead! How would the epilogue have gone if Tris had survived her trip into the Weapons Lab? Let's take a different look at life two and a half years after the war.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Just a Bad Dream

**Author's Note:**

> So I binge-read the Divergent series last weekend and I enjoyed it enough to hate the ending. Full-on, ugly-crying, book-throwing, two-days-of-depression hated it. Considering that I’m a huge fan of the works of Joss Whedon, I think it says something about the cruelty of that conclusion that it would affect me to that extent. So what do we do when a book ends in a way we don’t like? Rewrite it in fanfic, of course!

**Two and a Half Years Later**

I wake to a pained, frightened sound. Rolling over, I see Tobias curled next to me, his eyes closed, his forehead creased and beaded with sweat. He is shaking, muttering miserably in his sleep. I instinctively move closer, wrapping my arms around him and clutching his body against mine.

Nightmares have plagued Tobias ever since the war. After I went into the Weapons Lab in my brother’s place and hallucinated being shot by David as I activated the memory virus, I lay in a coma for six weeks before my body was able to rid itself of the death serum. Christina tells me that Tobias refused to leave my side, sleeping on a cot next to my bed and only eating when forced to. When I finally regained consciousness, his joy and relief were tempered by the weight of the guilt he still felt over Uriah’s death. It took a long time for all of us to heal, to move on from the horrors that we had endured. For the most part, life is good now. We are alive and we are together and we are happy. Sometimes, though, at odd moments during the day or in the clutches of sleep, the nightmares come flooding back, overwhelming us with grief and regret.

Tobias’ eyes finally open, wild and confused for a moment before they connect with mine and he begins to relax. He slides his arms around my small frame and holds me tightly, taking deep breaths to calm himself.

“Do you want to tell me about it?” I ask softly when I think he’s fully awake. Talking about his fears has never been something that comes naturally to Tobias, but he admits that it does seem to help when he opens up to me. I brush my fingers over the tattoos along his spine and wait quietly while he pieces the dream back together in his mind.

“You were gone,” he finally whispers, holding me tighter. “You’d died in the war and I had to scatter your ashes by riding the zipline.”

Before I can stop it, a tiny snorting laugh escapes and I bite down on my lip to repress a smile.

“You think that’s funny?” he asks incredulously, pulling back a little to look at my face. I shake my head vehemently.

“No! No, of course not,” I insist. “That’s terrible. I just – it’s kind of ridiculous. You would never ride the zipline. Not in a million years.”

One of his hands slides from my body up to my face and he grips my chin gently, tilting my head so that he can gaze directly into my eyes. The look he gives me is so intense that it takes my breath away.

“I would do anything for you, Tris.”

I kiss him then, love and passion overwhelming my senses as our bodies press together in the early morning light.

Later, we shower and share a quick breakfast before walking out to the truck. We are meeting his mom this afternoon at the edge of the city, but Tobias wants to take me somewhere first. He refuses to tell me where, so I roll my eyes and go along for the ride.

We stop next to a quiet stretch of track and get out of the truck. I raise my eyebrows at him when I hear the train approaching and he grins. We jog alongside the train, jumping aboard and falling over each other in a heap of laughter.

“Feeling nostalgic?” I ask him, sitting astride his hips as he lays on his back on the floor of the train. He shrugs evasively.

“A little,” he grins up at me. Slowly, I lean forward, gripping his shirt in my fists as I lower my lips to his. His arms wrap around me and I sigh softly. After a minute, however, he gently pushes me away and attempts to sit up.

“As much as I’m enjoying this,” he chuckles. “This isn’t just supposed to be a joyride. We’re going somewhere and I don’t want to miss it.”

I sigh dramatically as we get up and he laughs at my antics. Then we stand in the open doorway, hand in hand, watching the city fly by beneath us as the wind whips our faces.

“Get ready!” he shouts and I turn my head to see a familiar rooftop approaching. I want to ask him what he’s up to, but there is no time. I steel my nerves before flinging my body out into the air and landing roughly on top of the building, falling to my hands and knees.

“Better than my first jump,” I grumble. “But not by much. I’m a little out of practice at this.”

“You’re not the only one,” he winces, rubbing his knee. “C’mon.”

He takes my hand and leads me to the edge. I stop short as I peer down into the blackness below.

“You’ve got to be joking,” I scoff. “Tobias, it’s been three years since that net was last used. How do you know it’s still safe? How do you know it’s even still there?!”

“Because I checked on it yesterday on my way home from work,” he replies. “What do you think I am, an idiot?” I shrug and then smirk at his expression. “Don’t make me push you.”

I laugh as I spread my arms and lean out into nothingness. The fall is exhilarating, wind rushing past me as I sail down through the air. A whoop of joy is pulled from my chest right before I hit the net, and then I am breathless as the air is knocked out of me. Laughing as I did three years ago, I roll myself to the edge and climb out of the net before Tobias lands on top of me.

I takes him a minute to follow. I don’t know why he’s decided to do this, since heights still freak him out, but I know there’s no point in asking more questions that he is determined not to answer. I take his hand as he rolls out of the net and we walk together down the pitch black corridor.

We emerge into light when we reach the Pit. The glass ceiling is still mostly intact and sunlight streams through the panes, illuminating the dark rock of the walls and walkways. I stop for a moment, memories both joyous and painful washing over me. The faces of Al, Uriah, Tori, and Will flash through my mind and I squeeze Tobias’ hand. He looks down at me, concern in his eyes.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just a little overwhelming,” I answer. I take a deep breath and cast my eyes upward, trying to focus on the good memories. Tobias turns toward me, enfolding me in his arms and pressing a soft kiss to my forehead. “I lived here for such a short time, really,” I say. “But so much happened. I made and lost so many friends. I became a different person.”

“This place is important to you, to us,” he mutters. “That’s why I wanted to come here today.” I look up at him, gazing into those blue eyes that I have never been able to get enough of. Despite everything I lost, I feel like I gained infinitely more by finding him, by having him in my life.

“C’mon,” he continues. “Just a bit further.” He leads me by the hand toward the path that goes down into the chasm. Here, we walk single file until we reach the small flat area of rock where we sat after he took me through his fear landscape – the place where we kissed for the first time.

I don’t have words when he turns to look at me. I simply stare up at him, remembering those stolen moments, the fear and exhilaration of falling in love with him. He holds me close, kissing me softly. When he pulls away, I open my eyes and he is holding something between us. A small simple band, just like the one my mother wore. On closer inspection, I notice that this one is engraved. Five circular symbols spaced equally around its circumference.

“Tris, ever since I saw you drop into that net, first in your class, I knew you were special. After everything we’ve been through together, I know there’s no one else I could ever be with. You’re it for me and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?”

I kiss him. I kiss him because I am overwhelmed and I love him and words seem pointless and silly. I kiss him because kissing him is the best feeling in the world and I’ve never felt anything as good as this. He laughs as I finally pull away.

“Can I take that as a yes?”

“Yes! God, you really are an idiot. Yes!” I laugh along with him, tears in my eyes as he slides the ring onto my finger.

Several minutes later, as we climb out of the chasm, we are startled by a loud cheer. The Pit is inexplicably full of people and they are all looking at us, clapping and stomping as they yell. The sound echoes off the walls, drowning out the roar of the water below.

“What the-?!” Tobias cries, leaving me even more confused when I realize that he had nothing to do with this part of the surprise. Zeke appears out of the crowd, pulling me into a rough hug and slapping Tobias on the back.

“C’mon man, you didn’t think I’d let you guys get engaged without throwing a big ass party, did you?” he laughs at Tobias’ dumbstruck expression.

“What if she’d said no?” he asks his friend.

“Right, because that was really a possibility,” Christina chimes in sarcastically. “C’mon, you two.” She drags us into the crowd of people.

We are being congratulated from all sides, a confusion of hugs and laughter flowing around us as we move. I am stopped, however, when a pair of hands grasp both of mine. I look up to see Evelyn peering down at me, an unreadable expression on her face.

“I want to apologize for how I treated you,” she begins. I start to respond but she shakes her head. “I know now how wrong I was. You have been so good to my son, you make him very happy, and for that I am more grateful than you can know.”

“Evelyn?” Tobias asks in surprise, appearing behind me. “I was going to pick you up at the gate this afternoon.”

“Zeke contacted me about the party and Amar came and picked me up early,” she explains. “Congratulations to you both. I am so very happy for you.”

I hug her suddenly and when I let go, there are tears in her eyes but she is smiling. Tobias hugs her as well and then turns to me, scooping me up in his arms and spinning me around. I laugh giddily and our friends cheer. He puts me down again but doesn’t let go. When I pull him close to kiss him, whistles erupt through the crowd.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been as happy as I am right now,” he whispers, his forehead resting against mine.

“Me too,” I answer. “It almost feels like everything that happened was all just a bad dream. I’m awake now.”

“I love you so much.”

“I love you too.”

-The End-

**Author's Note:**

> There, now don’t you feel better? ;)


End file.
